To Never Say Goodbye
by Lyris
Summary: [FullMetal Alchemist] Has some RoyEd romance. After the revelation of the Ishbal Massacre, Ed is left in a state of mental drama. He supresses all his true feelings, as Roy notices. He tries to draw him out of his shell before Scar can finish his job.
1. why He Never Kept Cats

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Full Metal Alchemist characters, if I did I would be rejoicing right around now...

**Author's Comment:** Takes place right after the Ishbal Massacre episode. Ed is in the hospital because of any injuries he might have aquired from the battle with Scar.

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**Chapter 1 - Why He Never Kept Cats...**

Ed lay on a hospital bed, sleeping with a frown gracing his face. He was silent ever since his brother, Alphonse, mentioned that he heard their mother's voice after Ed was nearly killed by Scar. One would occasionally visit him, but there was only a single person that would stay by his side for hours on end, watching over him. Not that he knew of course.

Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist himself, observed Edward. He liked to watch as the sun played on Ed's hair, making it turn a glorious golden color. He reached out with his left hand, the one that didn't have his glove on, wanting to touch the hair that looked so soft. He stopped, however, when he saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at him.

"Na, neko," Roy told the cat sitting right behind Ed's head, "Don't scare me like that."

The adorable cat just meweled at him, walking over Ed and towards Roy. As it stepped past Ed's nose, he woke with a start. Ed sneezed suddenly, startling both the cat and Roy at the same time. Sitting up quickly, Ed scrambled to the far side of the small yet luxurious bed he was on, pointing at the cat in accusation.

"N-NEKO?!" he shouted, finger and eye twitching in unison.

"Aa," Roy replied, silently glad that Ed was finally awake yet disappointed that he didn't have a chance to play with Ed's hair a little. The man would never let him do it while he was awake. "A neko. What of it?"

The dazed cat wandered towards Ed blindly. He froze, feeling the soft fur of it brush against his skin before breaking out in a fit of sneezes. While he had the time to, Ed jumped over the side of the bed, but the cat followed him like prey. Ed swiftly took Roy's alchemist suit collar in his hands and shook him vigorously.

"What is it doing here?!" Ed shouted at him, now shaking Roy with one hand while the other pointed at the neko again.

Roy simply shrugged, raising both of his hands in defense. Before he could explain anything, Ed took off with the cat hot on his heels through the corridor. He sighed, guessing that he should follow Ed before he ran into any more trouble. The nurse would no doubt have his head for this one.

"Oh, Ed!" Hughes waved at him as he raced towards him. On reflex, Hughes took out his pictures of his family that was concealed in his pocket, ready to start ranting about them to the poor Full Metal Alchemist. He had no chance to though, for Ed ran straight past him yelling, "Not today, Hughes!".

As if insulted, Hughes slumped, a gloomy look plastered on his face as he watched Ed and the cat's form disappearing at an alarming rate. Deciding not to get discouraged, Hughes set his glasses up high and stood up straight, turning to see Roy running towards him too.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, his happy look back on his face again as he reached for the pictures. Roy shot him a warning glare before speeding off towards the same direction that Ed and the cat had fled to. Finally giving up, Hughes sighed and walked back towards the main office, deciding to wait for Roy to come back. If not today, then surely he would be able to show off his lovely daughter tomorrow. And possibly the day after that too.

He also needed to tell Roy about what he learned about Ed from the nurse, and he needed to tell Roy quickly. Hughes sat down in one of the cushioned chairs near the large ash wood desk. He looked out the glass window to the garden where he could spot Ed running around, the neko and Roy following him. Hughes smiled a bit. Maybe things would work out anyway, despite what he had learned. He had hope.

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About fifteen minutes later, the door creaked open. Hughes turned to see Roy coming in, looking exhausted from his frantic chasing of both Ed and the cat. Roy sat behind the desk, turning to look at his friend.

"What is your business? I hope you're not here because I didn't stop to see your pictures earlier," Roy said. He winced as he heard screaming followed by a sneeze and water splashing. It looked as though he would have to fetch a towel for Ed afterwards.

"It's about Edward," Hughes started, a serious look etched onto his face. Roy's face suddenly became serious also, his hands gripping the chairs arms tightly.

Roy stood suddenly, hands slamming down onto the table making paperwork fly everywhere. "What about Edward?" he demanded. The situation looked grim with the way Hughes was acting. He didn't like it one bit.

"Well, you see," Hughes continued, slightly intimidated by Roy's reaction to the mention of Edward,"I asked the nurse about how his health was, and she noticed a very...interesting thing."

Hughes unconsciously scooted his chair back a bit when he felt Roy's anger waves coming at him for not telling him already. It wasn't as though he hadn't tried earlier, jeez. /Well, I guess I'll just have to explain it all to him.../ He took in a deep breath, ready to explain everything he had learned to the angry Flame Alchemist.

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Next Chapter-

Hey everyone, Edward Elric here! On the next chapter of "To Never Say Goodbye" - My health secret gets revealed to Roy! What's up with that secret anyway? Only the author would know...There's more cat and dog trouble in store for all of us! Where did that cat from anyways? It's driving me nuts! Al and myself restart our quest for the legendary Philosopher's stone, but I have to spend seven more days with that crappy Colonel...Well, see you later in the next part, "The Inerasable Sin"!

End Comments: Hehe, small cliffhanger there. I felt like torturing poor Roy since he's such an easy target, ku ku ku...*notices all the people looking at her like she's crazy* Anyways, I hope that the first chapter was okay! I'm really interested in FullMetal Alchemist, and their songs are pretty too ^_^ Well, C&C is always welcome, and I'll try to keep on writing as much as I can! I estimate that there will be somewhere around 10 or so chapters, depending on my inspiration level. I thank everyone who has read this, commented, and who has written their own fics, as I got the inspiration to write this fic from other FMA fanfictions. Thank you, minna-san! *bows*


	2. The Inerasable Sin

Disclaimer: Let's just say that if I did own Full Metal Alchemist, there would be much more *coughs* romance *coughs* ^.^

Author's Comment: Gomen ne, minna-san for the long wait! School's been very hectic lately, and I haven't found the inspiration needed, though I have an outline of how this'll go. Well, enjoy the chapter, I hope it does as well as the chapter before it!

Fireydraygon-san : Contrary to your request, I added more romance in this chapter, though it is a bit sudden XD There will probably be more Roy&Ed parts later on.

xxkurenaixx-san : School has taught me the art of cliffhangers, blame it on that :-D I'm very pleased that you liked it so far! I'll be nice this time then and not end it like that.

Kotonaru-san : Thanks for pointing that out! I was wondering about that u.u;; If you find anymore mistakes, please tell me and I'll correct it asap :)

Minna-san : Arigatou for Reading and Reviewing! I hope that you'll keep reading!

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**Chapter 2 - The Inerasable Sin**

Glaring at the innocent-looking cat, Edward peeled off his shirt and started to wipe himself down with the towel handed to him from Roy. If it weren't for the cat, he wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place. Where did the damn thing come from anyway? Animals weren't normally allowed onto the grounds. Ed's thoughts stopped when he caught Roy looking at him oddly.

"Na, what are you looking at," Ed said, glaring at Roy. As far as he was concerned, this was partially Roy's doing.

The man in question, not entirely coherent while he was lost in his thoughts, just kept on staring at Ed, dark eyes hazed over partially. When he stood, Ed moved back slightly on instinct, not knowing what the man was trying to do to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Roy leaned down to pause a breath away from Ed's lips. He was mildly surprised that Ed didn't move back more or hit him by now, but instead Ed just sat there, looking up curiously at Roy.

"Aren't you going to move away?" Roy asked the slightly trembling Ed huskily.

"Like I could," he retorted, back stiff against the wall he backed into when Roy started his advances. He was confused, though he didn't show it. Why was Roy acting like this suddenly?

Roy just smiled and brushed his lips against Edwards quickly in a chaste kiss before straightening up again. He just finished straightening his collar when Hughes burst through the front doors, a big grin on his face. Taking in the scene of Roy smirking and Ed still backed up against the wall, blushing, Hughes made a small 'kyuu' sound before shrinking back through the doors, closing them behind him.

Roy sweat dropped as he watched Hughes leave them alone, quite satisfied. Looking to Ed, Roy smiled evilly at him.

"Are you going to finish up drying yourself or are you so helpless that I have to finish the job for you," he asked. He wouldn't mind drying Ed off at all, especially since he could use that as an excuse to get closer to the golden-haired boy.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself, thank you," Ed nearly growled out, quickly looking away and drying his automail and himself off. After he was done putting his hair back into its usual braid, Ed looked at Roy and found him staring at him once again.

"What? And what was that...that kiss for, anyway," he asked Roy, not sure what to think of it. He'd never been kissed before, not even a short one, so he was unused to the sensation of someone elses lips against his. He didn't know what to make of it, really. Should he be mad? Furious, even?

"To show you someone cares," Roy replied simply. Before Ed could think of a comeback, he thrust a small stack of papers into his arms. "Your new mission. You will be dispatched from here in seven days, taking Alphonse and," Roy grinned broadly, "Me along with you!"

For that, Roy ended up with multiple bumps on the top of his head and a fairly angry Ed.

"You will not be coming with me," he dared to say, stomping out of the room and heading for his own.

Roy sat back in his chair and shrugged, thinking back to what Hughes said earlier.

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"Ed, as you know, is a very fragile emotional boy, though he doesn't want everyone to see that," Hughes stated, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and leaning back on the chair in a more comfortable position,"He hasn't been quite the same since the decomposed body of the chimera, three years ago."

"Yes, and," Roy asked, wanting to know how much of an impact that had on Ed, "How much changed?"

"Ed hasn't opened himself up to anyone except his brother, and even then it was only a few times," Hughes explained, twirling a pen unconsciously,"He keeps all his real emotions pent up inside of him. Because of this, Edward is slowly dying on the inside. If he doesn't come out of his shell soon, it'll be the end for him. Scar will..."

Hughes was cut off by Roy slamming his hands down on the desk again before standing up and walking over to the door, a deep frown placed on his face.

"Then I'll draw him out," he quipped before nodding to Hughes and leaving his personal work area.

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Roy sighed. He knew he shouldn't have done that, but he was angry at Hughes for supressing the information for so long. Sure, it had taken a while for the nurse to really examine Ed, especially with the boy obviously trying to avoid being under her scrutiny. Still, Hughes must have had the info for a while. Roy had noticed that Hughes would stay silent for much longer than he normally would. The man would also go into Roy's office with the excuse of wanting to help with paperwork, but instead he would go to the window and look out it. When asked if he had something to say, Hughes would pause for a moment before replying with "Nothing". It was Roy's business to know what had happened to the boy under his charge, and Hughes was no idiot. He must have known that Roy did harbor some inklings of love for the boy.

With a sigh he shrugged and stood, heading out the door to Ed's room further down the hall. He paused at the door and knocked twice, but no one came to answer. Twisting the door knob, Roy found that the entrance was unlocked. A sly grin crossed his face coupled with a familiar evil glint in his eye. Of course there was no reason for Ed's "illness" to prevent him from having a little fun.

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Ed cleansed his hair, making sure that all the junk from the fountain water was gone. Since it was more of an open bath (there being a fairly big glass window near the showerhead) Ed wore his boxers, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Whose idea was that anyway? Some pervert, no doubt. Possibly Roy's. Then the kiss from earlier would make more sense. He lowered himself into the large tub filled with suds and hot water, relaxing as he did so. Ed sunk in a bit as he closed his eyes, sighing in the pleasure of taking time away from his normally busy schedule. Suddenly he twisted when he felt a pair of strong arms caressing his shoulders.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, catching a glimpse of black hair as the person backed off a little, "What are you doing here?" Roy really must have been the one to design this bath.

Roy winced, putting on the best puppy dog eyes look before replying.

"Giving you a nice massage?"

Apparently Ed didn't fall for it as Roy gulped. He wouldn't get out of this so easily...why did he think it was a good idea again?

Ed got up out of the water, hands reaching to strangle him, already making a wringing motion. Always one to play with fire, Roy felt an urge to stick out his tounge and tease Ed when he dodged the hands quite easily. Ed tried to run towards Roy but, unfortunately, he ended up slipping and falling straight into the pile of suds. Ed rose out of the water, shaking with anger.

"You...," he said dangerously before almost slipping again. Without realizing what he was grabbing onto, Ed pulled on the hem of Roy's pants, making Roy also fall on him. Taking the chance, Roy steadied himself by placing his hands on Ed's shoulders and kissed him fully, making it look like he accidentially did it.

Ed's mind went blank for a moment, freaking out at the situation they were in. It being too much for him to handle, Ed simply slumped to the floor, unconscious. Rpy held him in his arms and sweat-dropped, something he was doing an awful lot lately.

"Was it _that_ bad?" he asked himself, carrying Ed off to his bedroom.

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Roy watched over Ed as he slept, the habit having formed while looking over the boy in the infirmary. Ed was clothed in only his boxers and his towel still, laying quite near the cat who seemed to enjoy his presence. Roy sipped tea from his mug, admiring the beauty of Ed near the fireplace. Remembering the first time he saw Ed sleeping, Roy kneeled down next to Ed, putting his mug in a safe spot and parting Ed's hair gently. He just toyed with the ends of the golden hair at first, scared that he would find Ed rejecting him in the most painful manner if he ever woke. To his relief, Ed never did. He got bolder and started to stroke his soft hair soothingly.

Roy nearly jumped when he heard a purr sound. Looking curiously at Ed, Roy wondered if the sound came from him. He heard it again, coming a bit further from Ed. Looking over the sleeping boy, Roy smiled as he saw the cat curled up beside him, tail jerking back and forth every now and then. Then it hit him- he knew who the cat reminded of him now. He shifted so that he could stroke both the cat's fur and Ed's hair contently.

"From now on," Roy told the sleeping cat, "I'll call you Ed."

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Next Chapter-

Alphonse reporting on the inside scoop! I got to do it this time since I haven't appeared in the two chapters the author wrote, how mean and malicious she is...Back to the point, we have six days remaining until we leave for East City on our next mission...With the Colonel?! Though Ed always says that he's not coming along, Roy is pretty persistent on going with us. I wonder why though, as does Onii-san. Roy talks to me saying something about Ed forcibly acting happy, and about what he must do to stop him from getting killed by Scar. So join us in the next installment, "Contemplations"!

End Comments: Since I was evil last chapter, I decided to let this one end happily. I've decided that, like in the anime, after most uppers, something'll happen. I'm open to any suffestions on how the next chapter will go, as I'm not very sure myself .; I'll try to get it finished by the 10th of Febuary, given that that is when I'll be busy playing Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. I've come up with an idea for another FMA fic, but I'm not sure whether I'll start it or not since I'm already late in updating this fic.

As a hint for the next chapter, I'm going to re-watch the Night the Chimera Cries episode over and over until I finish an outline for it. I'm not very good at making things very angsty though, so it probably won't be very emotional or anything. Also, a new character will most likely be introduced towards the 5th chapter or so. Forgive any spelling mistakes and awkward sentences, my grammar isn't the best. Oyasuminasai!


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